The Trauma-informed education knowledge survey: Validation study

Abstract

Trauma-informed education is an approach used by school staff to support students affected by trauma. A number of training programs have been developed to promote the use of trauma-informed practices in schools. A key outcome of these training programs is increased knowledge about trauma and trauma-informed practices, however a standardized measure of this knowledge has yet to be established. The Trauma-Informed Education Knowledge Survey is among the first scales designed to provide a standardized measure of educators' knowledge about trauma in students. The present study aimed to assess evidence of validity for this survey. Using responses from 170 American educators, the Trauma-Informed Education Knowledge Survey demonstrated good evidence of validity when compared with the commonly-used Attitudes Related to Trauma-Informed Care scale, which purports to measure attitudes towards trauma-informed approaches. It maintained moderate internal consistency for the scale as a whole, as well as for the two hypothesized subscales, and appears to be best used in its original form, consisting of a single factor. The Trauma-Informed Education Knowledge Survey is currently the only non-program specific measure available of educators’ knowledge of trauma-informed approaches. It demonstrates adequate validity and reliability enabling its use in future studies and program evaluations of trauma-informed education training.